Bethesda news, restaurants, nightlife, events and openings, real estate, crime reports and more - the way only a lifelong Bethesda resident like Robert Dyer can bring it to you. Everything you want and need to know about Bethesda, plus special investigative reports you won't find anywhere else. The must-read blog for breaking Bethesda news, when you want to be the first to know.

The Montgomery County Planning Board will review the sketch plan for The Claiborne condos at its November 10 meeting. Located at 4820 Auburn Avenue, the building will house 58 condominiums, and 2800 SF of retail space. It will be 110' tall. The Donohoe Companies, which owns the Gallery Bethesda apartment tower next door on Auburn, has brought several concerns to the Board's attention.

Writing on behalf of Donohoe, VP Jad Donohoe notes that the plans are not definitive on the exact setback for The Claiborne on Auburn. Were the building not to have the 35.5' distance from the center of Auburn Avenue as the Gallery was required to provide by the Board, Donohoe writes, the block will look poorly planned and The Claiborne will obstruct views of the retail at the Gallery.

Second, Donohoe advises the commissioners to require undergrounding of utilities and Bethesda Streetscape sidewalk standards around the block from Norfolk Avenue to the point where Donohoe provided such at their Gallery site on Del Ray Avenue. "Failure to complete a whole city block adjacent to Woodmont Triangle’s 'Main Street' [Norfolk Avenue] would be a missed opportunity," Donohoe writes. Currently, planning staff are only asking developer Novo to complete the streetscape on Norfolk up to where it meets Del Ray, not all the way down to the Gallery.

There is also concern for the noise impact from rooftop mechanical systems at The Claiborne on residents in the Gallery, as the new building is proposed to be set back only 15' from the Gallery. Donohoe says noise shielding of those systems with wells, solid walls and a trellis could help solve the problem.

Finally, Donohoe recommends The Claiborne's garage entry next to the Gallery's ground-level retail have more-attractive translucent panels instead of blank steel, and that the garage door and loading dock keep their doors lowered except when vehicles are entering or exiting from them. He points out that this will give pedestrians more time to react to vehicles using these entries.

Planning staff is recommending approval of the sketch plan, with conditions. They write that the concerns Donohoe raised will be addressed at the Site Plan stage of the project.

What is that small space next to the Apple Store at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda going to be? Now we know. Italian women's apparel label Patrizia Luca has opened a store there. Patrizia Luca of Milan specializes in outfits that can be worn to the office, but also work for a night on the town by adding an accessory or two. At the same time, their lines are designed to be affordable.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Here's a roundup of crimes reported across Bethesda on October 27, according to crime data:

Theft. Old Georgetown Road at Edgemoor Lane.

Theft from vehicle. DoubleTree Bethesda hotel.

Theft. 4600 block N. Park Avenue.

Pedestrian struck. Willard Avenue at Friendship Boulevard.

Missing:Daniel McNeil Hoganof Bethesda

Missing person. Daniel McNeil Hogan, 25, of 5100 block of Westridge Road. Last seen October 24, last heard from via text message on October 26 at 3:30 AM. White male, 5’7” tall, 158 pounds. Brown hair, green eyes. Detectives believe he may be driving a black, 2005 Infiniti G35 with Maryland tag: 7CK4081. Anyone with information in reference to the whereabouts of Daniel Hogan is asked to call the Montgomery County Police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000 (available 24 hours). Callers may remain anonymous.

Interior design firm Interiors of Washington has moved out of its space at 7944 Norfolk Avenue, which is now available for lease. The award-winning company is now working out of its Bradley Boulevard location; visit their website for contact information and a list of their services.

Pepco plans to begin electrical relocation work on Elm Street in downtown Bethesda next month. The complicated project will take six months, and involve nighttime and weekend work. This work is related to the controversial Purple Line light rail project, which will include a station at the current Apex Building site, if a court fight doesn't sink the plans. The Pepco work will be in the block of Elm between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues.

Local seafood concept The Grilled Oyster Company has added new Fall menus at its two area locations. Several new additions feature Barren Island oysters from Maryland's Hoopers Island, including fall harvest grilled oysters topped with roasted turnips, carrots, radishes, and a mild guajillo salsa, and farmer’s grilled oysters with roasted beets, rutabaga, sweet potato, and celery cream.

As temperatures get colder, the new shrimp ratatouille stew with squash, eggplant, and white beans would be a good choice. Other new menu items include lobster tartare with lobster served over orange sticky rice, avocado, sesame tamari sauce, and Old Bay sriracha aioli; a fall kale & quinoa salad with springy kale, roasted sweet potato, dried cherries, toasted almonds, and a lemon-garlic Dijon vinaigrette; pan-roasted Chesapeake rockfish with sautéed kale, bacon, roasted sweet potato, and almond brown butter; and seared sea scallops with a creamy shitake and Portobello mushroom risotto and Romesco sauce.

Popular menu items like duck tacos, fried Ipswich clams with dill tartar sauce, and Chesapeake cioppino are still available.

Grilled Oyster Company has two locations, Cabin John (7943 Tuckerman Lane) and Cathedral Commons (3701 Newark Street NW) in the District.

There is one wall left at the former site of the Miller & Long headquarters at Rugby and Del Ray Avenues in downtown Bethesda. Workers are also getting ready to excavate the site, which will hold Donohoe Development's second mixed-use tower across from the Gallery Bethesda apartment tower.

True Food Kitchen, the restaurant and anchor tenant at the new Solaire Bethesda luxury apartments, has posted Coming Soon banners promoting a Spring 2017 opening on the Wisconsin Avenue side of the building. The chain follows the vanished Rock Creek and new Beefsteak concepts into the Bethesda dining market, with healthy, organic spa cuisine as the primary selling point. You can examine their Fairfax County location's menu for a sense of what they might offer here.

Fresh-pressed juices will be part of the health beverages (such as one called Medicine Man at their Mosaic location featuring black tea, cranberry and pomegranate juices, honey and sea buckthorn) and cocktails served at a large scratch bar inside the restaurant, and a covered patio will provide al fresco dining. The Solaire was just delivered last week by developer Washington Property Company, and is now leasing.

Their website is up, but the chain's email list signup is not yet letting you set Bethesda as your location.

Also new outside the Solaire, are benches that were just installed. They are somewhat homeless-proof, but probably too short to provide a comfortable sleeping spot between armrests, despite lacking the more-blatant mid-seat hobo-repellent armrest you often find in urban areas.

There are signs that the build-out of the interior of the Experimac store in the Bainbridge Bethesda at 4915 Fairmont Avenue may be getting underway. In addition to the ladder and other materials, there is an ad seeking staff to promote and market the store, which specializes in Apple device repairs, sales, and trade-ins.

Phase II construction is rising high above PerSei Place at Federal Realty's Pike & Rose development. Facing north at the stub of Grand Park Avenue, you have the currently-unnamed apartment building to your left. Its retail space will include H&M and Sur La Table. On your right is the Canopy by Hilton hotel, which will have the 930 Rose luxury condos on top of the hotel floors. Retail tenants in that building include Lucky Brand.

Repairs have closed portions of the sidewalks along Cordell Avenue between Old Georgetown Road and Norfolk Avenue. Sections of the sidewalk have been replaced with new concrete near the M&T Bank and La Panetteria restaurant. All businesses remain open during the sidewalk closures, but pedestrians should be prepared to navigate blockades on both sides.